Thought processes and conversations started under the tilted cap of Tropicana Field. Someday everyone will know the Rays play in St. Petersburg, Florida, not TAMPA, or the fictitious city of TAMPA BAY.

Why are Bloggers’ the Rodney Dangerfield’s of Journalism ?

I was sitting here thinking today as it was raining, what do real “journalists” think of bloggers. I got to attend the NFL’s Media day this week as a non- media credentialed spectator. I saw members from some of the world’s best news organizations from the 4 corners of the earth trample and exhaust player after player with great, and also stupid questions about the upcoming Superbowl game. I even heard some questions that got me to thinking that the average “Joe/Jane” would be able to decipher this media frenzy better than some of the high priced talent I saw hanging on some player’s every word looking for a lead or a sidebar story.

It was at that moment that I wondered why there were not more credentialed bloggers with established sites or even talented new bloods with fresh outlooks in attendance. Now I am currently trying to find a way to get credentialed by a major league team, and I do have a journalism background, and at least 4 years in the industry, but I am also a blogger, and that has put me at a disadvantage. Even some of the media giants do not have respect for blogging, and in some cases it is totally warranted to think that way. ESPN’s ” Pardon the Interruption ” co-host Michael Wilbon said, “”The notion of blogging scares the hell out of me, and … this is why. There’s no accountability … stuff isn’t edited. It just goes out there as gospel. What it is is opinion, there’s way too much rumor.”

And with this fact comes the question, If I am qualified and able to produce a good article, or even submit a entry to get out another aspect of the team without bias or prejudice, shouldn’t I have the opportunity to showcase my talents too ? Why do I have to work for a large Fourth Ward employer to even get a taste of a pregame or post-game interview. I may not want to ask a single question, but it would be nice to get a quote, or even a comment from someone and fashion it into a great blog piece for everyone to enjoy.

A great example would be doing a piece on Scott Kazmir and why he felt the Rays had the right stuff in Spring Training to go to the playoffs. Or maybe even survey the players and get their favorite cities, or activities on the road and transform it into a nice article for traveling fans. I know in the future, every so often I am going to write a fan-based travel blog on the stadiums I have been to in the MLB. It is more for my enjoyment, but could benefit someone down the road. Okay, lets get back to the issue here.

Blogging is not found to be totally ethical at this time. That might be another reason that Mark Newman, our MLBlogs.com professor is doing the Jblog school of learning for us. If we are to put blogging up there with the media, we have to adjust our thinking and educate ourselves to bring reliable blogging to the forefront. We are not held to the copyright or even basic fact gathering guidelines that the media must endure and do daily. We are our own editors and copy clerks, and in that some people become nervous about blogs. We gather, interpret, and send the articles to the Internet without remorse or consequences. We can harbor frustration and lash out without worrying about the pulling of our credentials or sanctions from the league or team. But is it right that the big guys get all the fun ? I know I got into a Rays staff party after Game 2 of the American League Divisional Series .

I was given a wrist band to attend the open bar event, and I saw people from the Rays executive offices who could not figure out how I got into the event. But could it also be the fact that a blogger was there and might have dealt out falsehoods or even misconceptions without a PR department there to do positive or negative damage control. I was there like them to celebrate, but a few people did phrase their words differently to me that night.

So why not let bloggers have limited access, or even day-today credentials to help demonstrate and produce articles about the games and team that can be viewed in a positive nature by the Public Relations department that most of us are not looking to do hatchet jobs on the team or players’. But that might be the reason we have a bias, or a lack of trust towards the blogging community. There are people out there who are waiting for the bad news and pounce like a cat on a mouse. Also the fact of “on the record” and “off the record” comments can be confusing to someone who doesn’t have the experience.

That is a good example for reasons not to give credentials right there. A player joking about a situation could be written as a credible quote, when in fact it was sarcasm or even a comment made in anger at the moment. That is why I love the fact that Rays manger Joe Maddon, and a lot of team have a “cooling off” time before the media hits the clubhouse or interview room. I know personally I got hoodwinked one time on a story by a guy looking to make bulletin board fodder for a team. It never happened again, but I lost a little credibility with myself and that team.

Just because I want to cover your team does not mean I want a seat in the Press box. I love my seat at the Trop., and would love to casually stroll up there, but I do not want to sit up in the Press box. I would enjoy using the Wifi so I can rewrite and retransmit by blog throughout the game. To be able to get a printed copy of the pregame notes that other journalists get on a game basis would be a blessing. Even the option to contact the P R department and request an interview with a player would be a great step in the right direction.

ESPN’s Basketball guru, Stephen A Smith also had a comment about blogging, he stated “And when you look at the Internet business, what’s dangerous about it is that people who are clearly unqualified get to disseminate their piece to the masses. I respect the journalism industry, and the fact of the matter is …someone with no training should not be allowed to have any kind of format whatsoever to disseminate to the masses to the level which they can. They are not trained. Not experts.” Okay, here lies the full ruse for all of us. Since we are considered unreliable and unbiased by politics, are we the new evil to teams, or just a fresh alternative to the newspapers and media giants?

I understand Smith’s comments, I truly do. I have said the same thing when I was younger working on an afternoon newspaper writing human interest and in-depth stories on sports. The fans always have an opinion, that is true in any circle of life, people love to give their opinions. But why is it that in sports blogs we are more condemned, less of a reliable source. I have a journalism background in the media, but I am still considered to be unqualified. I would think that being in the top 25 on an MLB-supported website for blogging shows I might have some sense of credibility or even popularity.

But the end result is that teams and the media now have their columnists and staff ” blogging ” and writing about the team in their daily editions. Is the fact they have a banner above them proclaiming they work for a Fourth Ward credentialed media member make them anymore reliable, or that their opinion is gospel. I understand that blogging can be viewed as a new and unreliable source of journalism. I also think personally that most sports bloggers do perform a simple set of journalistic reporting methods, and adhere to principles in their submissions.

But should they be biased based on age, content or even views. Do people really read blogs with the same intensity that they do their local medias stories? I would hope that they do. Sometimes we can hit upon issues and also events that happen away from the reporters eyesight. We are the ones in the stands and know if the energy is out of this world ,or it is just the anticipation of the free concert after the game. We are the ones who speak to other fans and team personnel and hear and see things that the Press box crowd never get to know before we write about it. Some of my best blogs and ideas have come after in casual after game conversations with fans and team members.

In past few years, blogs have become a media giant that has not been regulated to the satisfaction of the journalistic giants. More and more people are reading blogs, and some bloggers have been granted the access to cover live sporting and news events. Blogging is not the true vessel of journalism, and it should never attempt to be. It’s a completely different media outlet that has absolutely nothing in common with the current media sorts. They aren’t the same types of writers, and they aren’t supposed to be.

Here lies the true evil or good of the news source. A blog is a blank website entry until we write our words and post them to the Internet. We can post personal events, activities, or even that trip to your favorite ballpark, but we still are not held liable for a fraction that the media is in real life. No ethics, no A P style book, and a basic empty space to be filled by any array of words. In this way, blogging is not journalism, we are not held to time tested sets of rules dictating how to practice the art.

The basic reason for journalism is to inform, and also interpret. But why is blogging not offered the same sources and be able to grow to be a Fifth Ward, or protector of the journalistic integrity of the media. Maybe it already has reached that point, and that is why it is feared vy some. Sam Smith, of the Chicago Tribune might have a point, “How is it I can work for decades developing contacts around the NBA and traveling regularly around the NBA and talking with the decision makers and some guy in his basement in his underwear is writing something that has credibility?”

But in the age of computers and instant connectibility, can’t we evolve the blogging community to become more accepted and viewed as a possible public relations marvel. MLBlogs.com’s Jblog school is a great start in the right direction for blogging online. With more reliable and more concise blogs, the sky is the limit in the future for blogging and sports. There will always be blogs that want to tear apart a team or bring out negatives. But should this hurt those of us who can bring insight and afresh spin on a team? Maybe not in the future, but right now, being in the stands and believing in the team is the closest some of us will every get…………..and I am not fine with that, but I understand the rule and will play the game by them.

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12 Comments

Blogging is an interesting animal. And it is something that the news media is going to have to learn to deal with. I think whether the established media likes it or not, blogs are the future. Much as “web address” and “google it” are part of the language of the younger generation – and all of us who are computer literate – so is the blog. Our society wants information faster and faster and the blog is the perfect medium to do that. But as you raised in your blog – the blog writer is not held to the same standards as the writer for the “established” newspaper or website. I don’t know what the answer to this is because a huge portion of what makes blogs so attractive is that they are “opinion” pieces. Yes – we like to read them to see what others are thinking; feeling; ranting about. And the problems arise when that opinion is taken for fact. How do we prevent that from happening? I don’t know. Maybe we do need some sort of credential process. Maybe we need some way to identify which blogs are based on fact and which ones are based on opinion. Thanks for raising these questions and getting us to think of ways to improve the quality and reliability of our chosen medium.

I was thinking about this while waiting for the concert to begin tonight. If I wrote a book on the 2008 Tampa Bay Rays season, since I am a blogger, will the media and the industry consider it a fictional or non-fiction book.

I know what I would consider it, but the media might have their own ideas. I do agree that we need to find some sort of guidelines before a blogger finds themselves in a libel or slander suit beyond their control.

But like the people in the late 1700’s who gave out pamplets by the curbs in major cities like Boston. Are we totally held under the law because we are trying to establish a new medium of communication. I guess we will find out soon.

I think one problem is logistics, Renegade. With the Yankees, for example, they have a huge media contingent and couldn’t possibly fit every blogger into the press box. There are too many of us. How should they decide who gets into the clubhouse and who doesn’t? And whom do they trust to write an accurate story that’s based in fact, not personal opinion? That said, I think blogging is the medium of the future and media relations directors will need to come up with some criteria for granting us access. I’ll happen. I like your idea of the part-time credential. Let us sit in the stands with the fans, but also let us have an interview with a player every so often.

I was told by an old time sports columnist years ago teams would ” throw sportswriters a bone” every once in a while for being loyal and writing good things about a club. You know, get that interview no one else can..or maybe even talk to that rookie first before the rest of the media horde.

There will be some form of redemption in the future for people who write blogs, but hopefully it will be while I am young enough to want to trek on up to the Press Box and say Hi, then stroll down to the clubhouse to hear the manager chat a bit about the game.

Honestly, I remember in journalism class back in college, they never predicted the computer taking over newspaper like they have. Probably because the Internet was just and infant then, and they could not see the possibilities.

Bro, we are so with you? Doesn’t make sense. Bloggers are the future of this industry. We know a very prominent blogger in the NY area who was shut out of the stadium of the team he covers. Go figure.http://themax.mlblogs.com

Now I know I have made it…………..The Max guys have commented on my blog. Hey, sometime you roll doubles six’s and they stick. Seriously, the future will be better for the blogging world. My daughter’s will have a better chance at credentials than me right now.

But that is fine, if I can help get something done, I am happy. I am not asking for full on access to everything but the coffee Matt Silverman drinks in the morning, I just want to cover the team I have followed since we came into the MLB……….plain and simple and without all the bells and whistles.

1. I am still checking but i am pretty sure it is still MLB that regulates the credentials and a couple of years ago they ordered the teams not to hand out credentials to bloggers. Just saying it is not necessarily the Rays that are saying no.

2. The “printed copy of the pregame notes that other journalists get on a game basis ” are available on the team’s website day of games. As far as i am aware, the credentialed journalists receive the exact same thing. I could be wrong.

3. I am a Rays blogger and even though MLB has stopped blogger credentials, I was fully-credentialed for the ALCS.

4. And while I am not a blogger that has much desire to conduct interviews, I have never been denied access by the team. They have always been helpful and open to any questions/requests that I did have.

Like anything, it was just a matter of building up trust with the team. And it has nothing to do with ***-kissing. I have been as hard as anybody on the team and players at times. But they also know from reading my site over the years that I am not going to make stuff up and I am fair.

There has to be a limit somewhere. Professional journalists are granted access because supposedly they have already been vetted by the organization that hired them. And the organization is trusted by the team.

There is not vetting process in place for bloggers. Maybe there should be. But you can’t just start a blog and say you want access. You have experience in the industry. So maybe you get to go to the front of the line. I don’t know.

But in the end, no team is going to let just anybody cover and have access to their product unless they know you or the organization you represent.

Great article! Totally agree…bloggers, especially those like us on an established MLB site, should get some respect. I too have a writing backround (freelance for magazines, short stories in books, manuels…) but still, the big media types do not take us seriously. Fear not though…the “blog” is the future. I think if we establish that we are truthful, accurate and entertaining all at once, eventually, someone has to stand up and take notice.

Jenn,
I agree with you about the future……….but would love for it to be the present. Your line about truthful, accurate and entertaining is totally true, and might be too true to get us that notice any time soon.

Wow,
Believe me, I know who you are Corky. You have a great site there. Been around a long time too, which is another eason for them to know you and trust you.

They know me more from my vendor days with the team. I was with Pepsi for 5 years covering the stadiums needs, and they got to know me that way, but over the last year I have tried to establish a blog that shows I have a true feel and want to praise and raise the Rays and not bury them like some sites have done in the past.

It a nice thing to know that you have had that type of access already. that means that as soon as Chris Costello, Carmin, and Rick Vaughn know I am for real, I might have a chance. Thank you for stopping by, your site is one of the reasons I decided to start up my writing again.

This is great. Thanks so much for posting it!
I, too, believe that blogging is here to stay. It’ll gain some sort of acceptance in the future, I’m sure, just like other “controversial” things have in the past. One example that comes to mind is from the world of music: Rap. I can remember a time when hip-hop had no respect. Now look at it!
Let’s keep our chins up, guys!http://thisfanslife.mlblogs.com

Wow, guess I should rock the boat more often. I have gotten a huge amount of great comments and responses from the MLBlog community on this blog.

I am going to do some research and see if I can do something else along this line before Spring Training. Again, thanks for the great comment and I still have my Sugarhill Gang record I used as a rollerskating rink DJ a long time ago.

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